Rost is a Bengali dish, possibly originating in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh (Eastern Bengal, now Bangladesh). The dish is influenced by the Mughlai cuisine of the Mughal Empire. The dish is known for including a large array of spices and ingredients and being a little sweet and very rich. The dish has developed several regional variants. Roust is made during almost all celebratory times in Bengal, especially during

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

, where it is an important dish always included. However, the dish is made anytime important guests are coming over. The dish is very popularly made in restaurants in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Bogra in Bangladesh as well as they do.

Influence

The dish was influenced by the

Mughal cuisine Mughlai cuisine consists of dishes developed in the medieval Indo-Persian cultural centres of the Mughal Empire. It represents a combination of cuisine of the Indian subcontinent with the cooking styles and recipes of Central Asian and Islami ...

of the Sultans of Bengal and the Mughal Emperors. The Persian and Arabs were known for their large amount of aromatic spices but limited amount of spiciness. Rôst reflects this type of culinary style while using more than 10 different spices they are all mild and instead add much richer and aromatic flavour. Rost also still carries much of its Bengali influence through use of garlic and green chillies and much ghee.

History

It is believed that Rost was first made in Old Dhaka (the then capital of Bengal Subah) made by

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

chefs for the Nawabs and

Zamindars A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

of the city. It was made to combine the Mughlai cuisine and Bengali cuisine, using the large amount of foreign spices such as saffron and extensive amount of

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

and the traditional Bengali spices and sweetness used in Bengal. The dish was largely confined within the

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

but after the creation of East Bengal and Assam when Dhaka was made the Provincial capital, dishes of the city started to become popular as more people travelled in and out of the city. After the creation of East Bengal the dish became one of the most popular dish in the province. In modern-day Bangladesh, Rost is the most popular dish eaten at every single special occasion.{{citation needed, date=February 2022

References

Bangladeshi cuisine Chicken dishes Bengali cuisine